The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1887-03-10
EMPORIA, KANSAS.
Its Present and Future Railroad
and Manufacturing
Interests.
Its Important Location at the
COnverging Point Of All
the Lines
or the Great Santa Fe System
in the West and South.


People visiting Emporia generally ex-
press their high admiration for its al
most unsurpassed beauty of location
and all admit that it is not alone in To-
cation that ii excels. The city aside
from its natural loneliness has many
artificial attractions that are equally as
useful as they are ornamental. If /
combined the genius of a poet and a
Cincinnatus TO chant and
speak its praise of today, would still
lack the power of prophetic foresight
TO predict its future growth and great
ness. With the railroad and manufact-
uring interests that are already here
coupled with those that are to be built
up in the immediate future, there can
certainly be no lack of confidence in the
rapid advancement of both city and
country property. Emporia really has
no considerable rival within sixty
miles of her, and her rapidly increasing
railroad facilities are fast making
her the center of attraction
AMI it is no wonder that spectators
are daily taking advantage of the
present low price of property in making
purchases of large blocks of land adj
joining the city. Preparation for ex-
tensive building has now begun, and
with the opening of spring, which is
now near at hand. hundreds of laborers
and mechanics will be required to do
the work contemplated. Thousands of
car loads of railroad material is being
stored here preparatory to building the
new extension of the ~, Il. & 5. F.
Railroad system, which is to have its
headquarters in this city. With the
advent of this new line of road, ex-
tensive stock yards are To be built,
with capacity sufficient to hold and
feed large shipments of cattle. There
is scarcely any doubt but many eastern
cattle buyers will come here to make
their purchases instead of going to
Kansas City. This is the natural
dividing point between Chicago
and st. Louis: and as the y. L. Il :. F.
II. r. has bought large tract of ground
here lying just west of the city, there
can be but little doubt of their purpose
to take advantage of this location and
the cheap prices of hay and grain, to
make this a junction for northeastern
and southwestern shipments. In less
than a year Emporia will be within
easy reach of ocean transportation and
ought to become large distributing
point for heavy freights that must
naturally find their way into Kansas by
the way of Galveston, Texas. While
Emporia is about to avail herself of no
less than four new competing lines of
railroads, yet she has by recent vote
given satisfactory proof that she high
ly prizes her old and well tried friend the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, which
indeed is the greatest of all the vast
civilizing enterprises 70 which our
State has given birth since its exist
ence. The OUTLAWS of this great rail-
road system within the last fifteen
years appears almost incredible to
those who have not visited this coun-
try, and yet Kansas has the geograph-
ical location, the soil, the climate, and
the almost inexhaustible resources to
furnish profitable business not only
To this great railroad system with its
hundreds of branches but to at least Il
half dozen other roads of lesser mag
nitude. Kansas has actually placed
itself in the ascendancy as the natural
pomoter of magnificent undertakings
for populating the great west and
southwest. The colossal scheme of build
ing up what is generally known as the
Atchison, Topeka II Santa Fe Railroad
system had its origin and still main
tains its nucleus here. Nominally En-
poria is not its headquarters but nat
urally it covers the ground that
will ultimately contain the key to the
entire system of railroad power sec
and to none other on the American
Continent. Upon careful eXamina
tion of the map of Kansas with IL view
of studying its railroad resources no UNI
preiudiced man would fail to locate the
headquarters of the y. Il. Il ;. +. sys-
TEN of roads mt Emporia. Thirteen
millions of dollars have recently been
called for 10y this corporation, for the
purpose of building new roads. About
one-half of this amount will be eXpend-
ed in Kansas and no inconsiderable
amount at this point, Enough has
been learned from an interview which
took place between c. W. Smith, first
Vice President of the y. L. Il ;. f. sys-
TEN, and Il California newspaper re-
porter to satisfy any one that the object
of this great corporation is To stretch
her hands from ocean to ocean. This
great railroad magnate is now on the
Pacific coast looking over the situation.
He is not Il great talker but n prompt
and active operator. / think it would
he well for a committee of the citizens
of Emporia tn arrange an interview
with Mr.. Smith upon his return east
ward through this city, as it is possible
that the interests of Emporia may be
moe actively advanced. They will
find him an afTahle business man OF
medium build,nOt of the typical bloated
railroad magnate sort who would upset
an ordinary citizen with the swath of
ponderous belly. ii. G. w.
bribery Charged.
KANSAS CITY, March 3.-A special
to the Times from Lincoln, Neb., says